BSNL Q1 loss at Rs 1,050 cr

After a brief spell of showing a minuscule operational profitability in previous two quarters (Rs 280 cr in Q4 and Rs 262 cr in Q3 of FY25) through accounting tricks, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has slipped back into red in Q1-FY26. This time the loss is not small, it is Rs 1,050 crore. This time no one is making any public claims.

Earlier, union communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia used to make statements with a rhetorical flourish. Once left on “ventilator support” by the previous UPA government, BSNL has now firmly re-established itself in the hearts of Indian consumers, he used to claim. In our May issue we exposed how accounting manoveres were used to show operational profitability in previous two quarters.

In what appears to be an accounting fraud, from January 1 this year, BSNL started billing directly to the customers of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd